Mom says "you could do this..."

Live from Nova Scotia

Sooo tired...must sleep...

Stories later - photos for now!

http://picasaweb.google.com/michelleheumann/NS2007

Talking to myself?

Just wondering...does anybody actually still read this thing? Facebook seems to be the new blog, and while I'm happy to rant to myself on here, I'm just curious to see if anyone else is checking it. :)

Leaving on a Jet Plane

I can't believe the trip is here already...this year is just speeding by so fast! I'm mostly packed - I just have to figure out what books to take now. I've got a few favourites that I like to read once every (summer) vacation, a big huge one I need to re-read, and I've been trying to read my way through my 40 or so Star Wars books for a few years now. I have a lot of trouble figuring out which clothes to take, and I have even more trouble with the books. I usually pick more books then I have room, and then I have to make more cuts, which is just painful!

I'm tired today - we went to see Pirates of the Caribbean 3 last night, and I was up waaay past my bedtime! What a movie - so many plots within plots it made my head spin. It was more dark and gory then the other have been, which is really saying something, and the ending was so bittersweet I can't seem to stop thinking about it. I must say though, Will Turner was looking particularly dashing this this one! ;)

This time tomorrow I'll be in NS - hooray! I can't wait to see/smell/hear the ocean again...I'll be sure to post some photos for you land-locked Calgarians! :)

By the way - tomorrow is Trevor's 25th birthday! I can't believe how old we've gotten...he was only 17 when I met him...so crazy...

100th Post!

Wow...look at me go! :) 100 posts in just over one year - I can't believe it's been that long already!

This past weekend was a lot of fun - on Friday night we had our last big youth event of the season, and it involved lots of hockey, Frisbee, and quite a bit of Chris getting beaten up. There was an awesome moment that I unfortunately wasn't able to capture on camera - some of the youth ganged up on Chris to give him a massive wedgie, and then they stood around him in a circle singing "shannana, shannana, hey, hey, goodbye". It gave me much joy... :)

Saturday we got up early to take our new car on it's first road trip - up to Edmonton for the day to our friend Leah's graduation from Concordia University. We had a good visit, and the ceremony wasn't quite as long as I'd thought. I saw quite a few people I recognized, including Arlene Salte, who started Break Forth. He got an award from Concordia for his work with Break Forth, which was really cool. Then we had dinner with Corey at a special restaurant called Bacon, took a quick trip through West Ed, and headed home. We made it back to Calgary in 2.5 hours, including a stop in Red Deer for gas and McDonald's. Zooooooom!!!

We went to the airport Saturday night to see Chris off on his biking adventure. He was off to a good start - the attendant at the airport who checked him out - I mean, in - didn't charge him for his overweight baggage, and I hear that he sat next to the flight attendant on the plane. Go Chris! You can follow his trip at http://www.chriscyclescanada.com/.

There are photos of Friday and Saturday up in my web album - check out some great sequential shots of Chris and Eckley wrestling! http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/michelleheumann

9 days to Nova Scotia!!!

Catch Up

Well, in all the car drama, I forgot to fill you in on my first ever bridal shower hosting gig! Lauren and I, with a lot of help from various other people, hosted a bridal shower for Sam a couple of weeks ago. Actually, I think it was three...wow, is time ever flying! Anyway, it went REALLY well, and Scott and Sam got a ton of stuff. There was also some amazing cheesecake, a really cute flower girl, and lots of melted chocolate and stuff to dip into it. It was a great success! I really like event planning, and would love to find a way to make a career out of it.

The weekend before last, I went to the zoo on a sunny Sunday afternoon to play with my 'new' camera. I took over 200 photos, and I've posted about 30 of my favourites for your viewing pleasure.

You can see the bridal shower and the zoo trip here.... http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/michelleheumann

This past weekend was crazy, but good. I'll post photos of those shenanigans later this week - I haven't even had time to download them from my camera yet...

11.5 days till I leave for NS!

Car Drama Update

Well, much has happened in the last week - we've gotten our new car! It's very shiny... :)

However, the dealer was a little confused about the options that came with the car, so we didn't get the rain-sensing windshield wipers, the lumbar support, or the cruise control! They're going to pay for half of getting the cruise control put in though, which is nice. And apparently it's really expensive if you have to replace rain-sensing windshields, so that's probably ok!

We found out more about the car accident. There's two different police officers on the job - the one who was at the scene of the accident, and then the one who's in charge of the auto theft investigation. Turns out the two people, and 18 year old guy and a 15 year old girl, who were in the accident, weren't the ones that actually stole the car. Someone else stole the car, and then gave it to them. Makes me a little nervous, because the guy lives right across the street from us...he'd better stay away from my new car!!!!

We went to look at the accident site, and it's really something else. It's a residential boulevard, with a sharp turn. They came around the corner, lost control, skidded sideways over the sidewalk, through a wire fence, along the ditch, and rolled on to the passenger side. The girl in the passenger seat had to go for surgery because her hand went through the window and was crushed. I really hope this scares them into shaping up! It really bothers me that this girl is out in the middle of the night, joyriding with this boy at 3 am on a school night, doing who knows what else - where are her parents? What has she been through that makes her think it's a good idea to be doing that? I've been praying that something good will come of this!

There was about $650-$800 worth of stuff stolen out of the car, and the police officer who was at the scene of the accident says it wasn't there, so we're still trying to get ahold of the theft officer. I called our home insurance just now, because they cover the contents of the car, and our deductible is $500, and it would drive our premiums up. So, not going to be making an insurance claim for it! Some of the stuff we don't really need to replace, but I will need a new winter jacket, and we'll need to buy all new map books, a tire gauge, water bottles - all that random little stuff that really adds up. I had two big bags of books in the car that I was going to trade in for "new" ones at my bookstore, and now I'm totally out of luck. It majorly sucks! I think I'm more annoyed at the loss of the books then anything else...it's just so pointless - what's some punk-ass car thief going to do with my puffy pink jacket and my collection of used books? ARGH!

I've been saying ARGH alot in the last couple of weeks...

Anyway, I'm really looking forward to taking Madam Blueberry for a test-road trip on the 12th - we're going to go to Edmonton for the day to see Leah graduate. Anyone want to come? :)

"More of what you wanted, sooner then you dreamed"

That's the Mazda slogan on the front of their vehicle brochures...ironic hey? We're leasing a 2007 Mazda 3, starting on Monday! Hooray! I've been wanting a Mazda since before we got the Neon, so it's pretty exciting. It's got rain sensing windshield wipers, which Trevor will be happy to demonstrate to you, :) a CD player, cruise control, a glove box you could put a small child into, and a trunk that will definitely hold two guitars, an amp and a pod board.

The sad news is we still haven't heard about whether they caught the bad guys, or what our insurance is going to do for us. Our rates are going to double, between the theft and having a brand-new car, and the value of the stuff that was stolen out of the car isn't enough to claim under our home insurance. So we're out quite a bit of money, and we're told that we'll probably only get $500-$1000 replacement cash for the car. :(

At least the Neon is paid for though!!!

Gone!

When my phone rang at about 20 after 4 this morning, I was annoyed. When it rang again, then Trevor's phone rang twice, I was worried. Trevor went to check the message, and it was from a police constable who called to say that our car had been STOLEN, totalled and is now in the impound lot.

I'm just...WHY? It's an old NEON, for goodness' sake - it doesn't even go that fast! (Trevor said it wouldn't even count as GRAND theft auto...lol) We only finished paying for it last week, and we were hoping to drive it for a few more months yet. I just got some work done on it on Sunday, and yesterday after work we got Trevor new shoes to wear to Scott and Sam's wedding...they're gone, along with my down parka, two bags of books I was going to sell, a bag of food for the food bank, and the list goes on!

The car was rolled, and there's blood in it. I can't get the details because our constable has gone off duty, but the guy at the impound lot says it was an injury accident. I'm hoping that means they caught the guys that did it! The unfortunate thing is that whoever took it, even if they got caught, will probably be back shortly, prowling our neighbourhood for more cars to steal.

Now we have to get a rental, sort out insurance stuff, and get a new car...like I really needed more stuff to stress about! Sigh...

My Personality

You Are An INFJ

The Protector You live your life with integrity, originality, vision, and creativity. Independent and stubborn, you rarely stray from your vision - no matter what it is. You are an excellent listener, with almost infinite patience. You have complex, deep feelings, and you take great care to express them. You would make a great photographer, alternative medicine guru, or teacher.

What's Your Personality Type?

50 Random Questions

1. Where is your dad right now?
No idea - my guess would be in bed sleeping

2. Last time you kissed someone?
This morning

3. Name five things you did today.
woke up
hit snooze
woke up againg
pushed the cat off my stomach so I could get up
fed the cats

4. Last person you text messaged?
I don't text message

5. What kind of phone do you have?
a red one that plays O Canada :)

7. Where does your best friend work?
Well, Trevor works at a law firm, and Heather goes to UBC. Which isn't TECHNICALLY working by traditional standards, but I hear university is a lot of work...

8. What are you listening to?
humming office noises

9. What do you smell like?
fabric softener

10. What color are your eyes?
blue

11. Have you ever done a Chinese fire drill?
no, I've always meant to, but it's never come up at an appropriate time

12. What color is your bedroom floor?
some non-descript, non-exciting colour

13. Do you have a chair in your room?
which room?

14. What are you doing tomorrow?
running errands and maybe hanging out with Anne

15. Do you know anyone who is engaged?
yup

16.What is your favorite #?
2

17. Do you know someone named Betsy?
I have an aunt named Betsy, but I don't really know her...

18. What color is your mom's hair?
brown - about the same as mine, but she has a wee bit more grey... :)

19. Do you have a dog? Breed? Name?
no

20. Do you remember singing any songs as a kid?
yah, I sang all the time. I used to get out the Maranatha praise book and sing while I did dishes.
I can't believe I just said that...

21. Are you married?
yes

22. When was the last time you talked to one of your siblings?
I talked to my brother on MSN last night

24. Do you play an instrument?
no

25. Do you like fire?
I love campfires

26. Are you allergic to anything?
Yah, egg yolks, perfume, tobacco smoke, and broccoli

27. Do you have a crush on anyone?
No

28. Best friend?
I have a few really good best friends, but as far as time spent together and crap we've been through and all that fun stuff...well, you know who you are... :)

29. Have you ever been to a spa?
No

30. Did you take science all four years of high school?
No

31. Do you like butterflies?
Live ones

32. Do you miss someone right now?
Yah :(

33. Does someone miss you right now?
I hope so!

34. Have you ever seen your school counselor?
no

35. Have you ever wanted to be a teacher?
Only when I went through my Little House on the Prairie phase when I was about 10 or 11...

36. What is one thing you've learned about life?
Chocolate helps

37. Whats your favorite color?
Pink

38. Is anyone jealous of you?
I hope not

39. Ever been stuck in an elevator?
no

40. What does your mom call you?
I'm not telling!!!

41. What do your friends call you?
Michelle

42. What does your hair look like right now?
messy - really need to get it cut

43. Has a friend ever used you?
I'm just not even going to try to answer that one...

44. Has anyone ever told you they liked you more than a friend?
not in so many words

45. What have you eaten today?
bran muffin and cheese

46. Is your hair naturally curly or straight?
straight and wavy

48. Who was the last person you drove with?
Trevor

49. What are you looking forward to?
Lunch with Trevor today, hanging out with Anne tomorrow, hanging out with Jennifer on Sunday, seeing Sam and Leah on Saturday, going to NS next month, going to Ottawa in July, a wedding in September...

50. How are you today?
I did the taxes on Wednesday night, and I still have a headache from it, and my boss is home sick today, so it's going to be a special day...

Great-grandmother

My great-grand mother, Annie St. Croix, died in her sleep last night. She was over 100 years old, 103, I think it was. I didn't know her at all, but it feels kind of like the end of an era.

It's amazing to me to think of all the things that changed in her lifetime. She was born in the early 1900's, when Newfoundland wasn't even part of Canada yet! They were disputing the ownership of Alaska, the "wireless" was becoming the next big thing, coke was actually made with cocaine, the average salary was $300 USD per year, only the wealthy had phones and cars, "Yankee Doodle" was a hit song, and the Wright brothers were still working on the airplane. I wonder what she thought of how things have changed, and will things change that much in my lifetime?

They've already changed quite a bit - when I was born, people didn't have home computers, phones still had rotary dials, and families usually only had one car. Cold war missiles were still a threat, cell phones didn't exist, the Internet hadn't been invented, cassette tapes were new technology, Canadian families still got a "baby bonus", and there wasn't any GST!

I wonder what changes the next 75 years will bring? Flying cars, a molecular transporter, family vacations on the moon, microchips in your hand with all your info on them, a cure for cancer...?

Harry Potter 7

What kind of Blogger am I?

You Are a Life Blogger!

Your blog is the story of your life - a living diary. If it happens, you blog it. And make it as entertaining as possible.

What Kind of Blogger Are You?

Winter Blahs...

Man, is it ever nasty out there. I'm watching snow/rain blowing sideways, and it's still so dark out I can barely see it to begin with. ICK! And I've gotten a cold, and I've lost my keys, and the neighbours upstairs are a pain...it's just not shaping up to be a very good day! The perfect kind of day to crawl back into bed and pull the covers over your head...it's supposed to be spring! :(

My Autobiography

Write this out IN YOUR OWN WORDS and re-post as, "My Autobiography"

Prologue

1. Where did you take your default pic? facebook - In the parking lot of Sunridge mall, by the Krispy Kreme. It was when Heather was visiting in February of 2006. Blog - at the Deane House, at my staff Christmas party in 2006.

2. What are you wearing right now? clothes...

3. What is your current problem? Which one? lol The most pressing ones are money, a messed up spine, and wanting to move away from Calgary.

4. What makes you most happy? laughing with my friends or sitting somewhere cozy with a good book

5. What's the name of the song that you're listening to? No music - just the sr. partner trying to be funny about the fact that I don't really talk much...oy...

6. Has anyone you've been really close with passed away? My Nan - not that we were close exactly, but she was a big part of my life

7. Do you like MTV? ewwwwww....

8. Name something that's annoying to you: oh, wow, where to start. Trevor's stinky socks, cobwebs in the laundry room, driving a Neon, hard pews that make my back hurt, stupid drivers, icy roads...

Chapter 1:

1. First name: Michelle

2. Nickname(s): Trevor calls me Mickey, and that's about it for that.

Chapter 2:

1. Do you live with your parent(s): No

2. Do you have any siblings? a brother and a sister

Chapter 3: Favorite...

1. Ice Cream: chocolate or butter pecan

2. Season: spring

Chapter 4: Do You..

1. Write on your hand? no

2. Call people back? I usually get my phone before anyone can leave a message

3. Believe in love: That's kind of a vague question...I believe that love is a good thing!

4. Sleep on a certain side of the bed? yup - the side that Trevor's not on, in whatever space the cat leaves me...

5. Any bad habits? being too pessimistic, eating too much junk food

6. Any mental health issues? I don't THINK so... :)

Chapter 5: Have You...

1. Sprained stuff? My ankle

2. Gotten stitches? Two, right above my right eyebrow

3. Taken painkillers? regularly

4. Stung by a bee? I think it was technically a wasp...

5. Thrown up at the dentist's office: nope

6. Sworn in front of your parents? Well, Mom thinks 'crap' is a swear, so yes

7. Had a detention? no

8.Been sent to the school principal? no

Chapter 6: Who/What was the last...

1. Movie you saw? We went to see Blades of Glory last night - it was pretty good, but Wild Hogs was more funny

2. Person who called you? my mom

3. who was the last person to tackle u? ummm...yah, I don't know if I've ever been tackled...

4. Thing you touched? other then where I'm sitting now, the fax machine

5. Thing you ate/drank? water

6. last thing you said out loud? I don't remember...something polite to the sr. partner who was trying to be funny, I think.

New Place!

So after a very 'special' day, we're finally into our new place! I couldn't even begin to list the things that went wrong, but it's all over now. Lots of stuff to sort out and organize, but at least we're not on a deadline to do that! And I'm SO enjoying having our own washer and dryer - hooray!!!
Anyhow, I need to see if I can find something for supper in that mess of a kitchen - if you don't hear from me in a few days you know that I've fallen into a box and need to be rescued... :)

Delusional Calgaria

This is awesome...

http://delusionalcalgaria.ca/

Help Wanted

So as you may have noticed, we're moving! lol

I have many great guy friends who are agreeable to haul stuff around in exchange for beer and pizza, but not only do I not have as many girl friends, I haven't been able to find one to help me with the cleaning on the morning of the move. They're totally renovating our apartment after we leave, so it's not heavy-duty cleaning, but I could so use a hand on the 31st from 8:30 to 11:30 am. And if beer and pizza won't do it for you, I'm open to suggestions!

Also, we really need a cat sitter for May 31-June 7, preferably someone who could come and stay at our place for the week, or someone who lives close enough to Falconridge to check in everyday. If this is you, please let me know - I can bribe you with fresh NS seafood or real maple syrup! :)

Trevor's Celebrity Look-alikes

My cool celebrity look-alike collage from MyHeritage.com. Get one for yourself.

My Celebrity Look-alikes

Well, this was a grand way to spend 10 minutes! :)

My cool celebrity look-alike collage from MyHeritage.com.

Vroom vroom!

I was feeling kind of random, so I took at test at www.tickle.com to see what kind of car I am.

Apparently I'm a....

You're a Sports Car!
Our global positioning device has got you pinpointed somewhere between glamorous and racy. You're the fast, flashy Sports Car. We're thinking a BMW or even a Porsche Boxster, with a luminous silver paint job. You are the prize earned after years of hard work and strife. Envy can be seen in the eyes of every passer-by. There's no greater satisfaction than watching their slack-jawed looks as you speed by, and feeling the power as you lightly press that pedal. And just like your zippy car, you love to get from one cool scene to the next at lightning speed. You truly represent life in the fast lane. People are enthralled with your slick lifestyle and fantasize about someday owning what you've got. Who could blame them? Your wheels have got all the options: world-class engines, a stereo to die for, climate controls, navigation tools, and an exterior so shiny they need sunglasses. You are made to drive the ultimate in automobiles.

Ooooh my...lol. That's pretty special! Glamorous hey? I think someone forgot to tell my wardrobe that... :) I like to drive fast, but I'm not too sure about life in the fast lane. Pretty interesting, and not exactly what I'd call accurate, but I'd sure love to own a sports car! I've wanted to own a Mustang ever since I read my first Nancy Drew when I was 7 - and for those of you who weren't so fortunate - Nancy Drew drives a baby blue Mustang convertible that her dad gave her for her 18th birthday.

Hopefully come July we'll be driving our very own, brand new Mazda 3, which isn't quite the same as a Mustang, but totally an improvemtn over a Neon! :)

Lots of Junk

Well, the packing has started. We have a lot of stuff - I did know that, but having to pack it all makes it seem like even more. But on the other hand I found a whole bunch of books that I haven't read in a while to add to my "to read" pile, which is fun. Of course, I'm too busy to read them right now, but our new place has a yard, so maybe once the weather turns I'll have some time to sit outside and read, which would be really great.

I called the office the other day to book an elevator for moving out, and found out that we have to be out by noon, not midnight like I thought, which is going to be stressful. Now I'm even more glad that we get the new place for a week before the actual moving day!

That's about all that's going on right now - preparing to move, planning a bridal shower, wishing we could buy a house, and planning a road trip around Nova Scotia in June. I will have a respite from the packing tomorrow - Anne and I are going to the Calgary Philharmonic for a show called "Irish Eyes are Smiling", which should be fun. The CPO puts on really quality productions, and I haven't been to any that I haven't liked, so I'm looking forward to it.

Oh, and if you're looking for something else to read, check out www.scottandsam.ca. :)

Whirlwind

Well, it's been, as usual, a crazy couple of weeks!

Good news though - just this afternoon we made a deposit on a new place. We're moving to a place in Falconridge - not too far from the park and ride, but we're also going to keep our parking spot downtown for a while to see how it goes. It doesn't have a dishwasher, but it has lots of parking, lots of storage, two bedrooms, and a beautiful lilac bathtub, toilet and sink! :)We take possession on the 23rd, so we have a week of overlap to move things so it hopefully won't be too too stressful. We've gotten a six-month lease for now, so we'll see how being in a basement suite goes. Hey, if you're up for helping us move on the 31st, or to help me with packing on the 29th or 30th, that would be muchly appreciated! :)

The ski retreat was awesome and full of all kinds of crazy stories - is it a herd of mountain sheep or a flock of mountain sheep? :) Being on a bus for that long just kills my back though - I'm still feeling it. But it was worth it! I love my youth - they are so awesome. And I got to watch Dead Man's Chest, National Treasure and the Emperor's New Groove. It was just so good to spend a whole weekend hanging out with people.

And I got to spend some quality time with Sam - and talk about me being in the wedding party! Tis very exciting - I've never done this before and since the groomsmen are Matt, Trevor and Chris, it's bound to be very entertaining. We went shopping yesterday and she got her wedding dress - it's soooo beautiful - it's perfect!

I did find new boots after one failed purchase and return - huzzah! I've only worn them twice but they're already looking less new and shiny though... :(

Last week I went to see Anne Marie's performance in Trial by Jury by Gilbert & Sullivan. It was highly entertaining, and you can see pics of that and the ski trip in my web album.

Now...let the packing begin!

My poor feet...

My boot heel cracked today when I was on my way to lunch, so I spent the rest of the day hobbling around and after work began my quest to find new ones. Alas for me, I seem to have just missed the winter sales, and everyone's got their spring stuff out already, and apparently the only boots you need in Calgary this time of year are rubber wellies, not dress boots. So I finally settled on a $10 pair of Walmart shoes until I have time to hit a 'real' mall that's not Northland. So my feet are very sore from slogging around the mall in a broken heel, and I'm wishing that it would be ok to wear my slippers to work tomorrow!

In other news, the unsuccessful hunt for a place to move into on March 31 gets more unsuccessful by the day, and I'm not really sure where to go from here. So if you could keep us and our potential homelessness in your prayers, I would really appreciate it. The end of our student loans and all that are in sight, but until they're done we can only afford about $1000/month for rent, and in the market out there, that doesn't get you much, which really sucks. Our salaries have definitely NOT gone up in proportion with the current cost of living! I'm SURE God has something in mind - I'm just not sure what, and I don't want to miss seeing the opportunity when it comes up.

Yay for a three-day work week - tomorrow is my 'Friday' as I've taken the real Friday off to go with my youth/friends to Vernon for a youth ski retreat. I'm really looking forward to it, but unfortunately Trevor can't come. :( I will try and take lots of pictures with my exciting new camera to share with y'all when I get back.

Getting to Know You

Someone emailed me this morning, and I sent it back, but thought I'd share my answers here. Feel free to copy and paste and email me with your answers, or post them on your blog - it's a great way to waste a little time! :)


Welcome to the 2007 edition of getting to know your friends. What you are supposed to do is copy (not forward) this entire email and paste it onto a new email that you will send. Change all the answers so that they apply to you, and then send this to a whole bunch of people (including the person who sent it to you). The theory is that you will learn a lot of little things about your friends, if you did not know them already.

1. What time did you get up this morning? about 6, from a very nice dream, too. :(

2. Diamonds or pearls? freshwater pearls

3. What was the last film you saw at the cinema? Stomp the Yard, I think...it's been a while

4. What are your favourite TV shows? Oooh, there's a lot. Colour Confidential, What not to Wear, Iron Chef, Hell's Kitchen, Boston Legal, NCIS, Gilmore Girls, McLeod's Daughters, Stargate SG1 and Atlantis...I think that's all the ones I watch on a weekly basis, anyway... :)

5. What did you have for breakfast this morning? a Nature Valley almond bar, and fruit to go and a glass of milk

6. What is your middle name? Linda

7. What is your favourite cuisine? Italian

8. What foods do you dislike? salmon, tuna, broccoli, onions, cabbage rolls, pate (looks like cat food - ick), anything really spicy

9. Favourite chips? Depends on my mood - either ketchup or cheddar sun chips

10. What is your favourite CD at the moment? Chris Tomlin or Casting Crown - any of them

11. What kind of car do you drive? An old Dodge Neon, but only till we get back from NS in June, if all goes well!

12. What is your favourite sandwich? grilled cheese, maple and bacon, or ham and swiss

13. What characteristics do you despise? un-trustworthiness...if that's even a word... lol

14. What are your favourite clothes? fleece and jeans or summer skirts and sandals

15. If you could go anywhere in the world on Vacation? Australia

16. Favourite brand of clothing? I mostly shop at Reitmans and Old Navy

17. Where would you want to retire? somewhere warm with an ocean - Hawaii maybe?

18. Favourite time of day? hummm...bedtime probably! with my nice new memory foam mattress....

19. Where were you born? Comox, BC

20. What is your favourite sport to watch? I like going to baseball games in the summer, and I like watching figure skating on tv

21. Who do you think will not send this back? probably Chris and/or Trevor... definatly not Amanda, cause I got it from her in the first place...

22. Person you expect to send it back first? the most bored one

23. Pepsi or Coke? Coke

24. Beavers or ducks? DUCKS! Ducks are awesome - there were some really friendly ones when we were camping in Kelowna this summer.

25. Are you a morning person or a night owl? more like mid-morning person...

26. Pedicure or manicure? pedicure...ohhhhh....

27. Any new and exciting news you'd like to share? I just got my first paystub reflecting my one year raise! Hooray! And I pre-ordered the new Harry Potter book today.

28. What did you want to be when you were little? Either Nancy Drew or a nurse

29. What is your best childhood memory? that's a hard one...I think probably when my mom was pregnant with my brother, and we would spend time every day working on our Lego masterpiece - it was a Lego house with many floors and really detailed. I think I still have it intact somewhere in my stuff at her house.

30. Piercing? 3 – 2 earlobes and one upper ear

31. Ever been to Africa ? No

32. Ever been toilet papering? hehe...maybe.... :)

33. Been in a car accident? unfortunately

34. Favourite Day of the week? Saturday

35. Favourite restaurant? Olive Garden - we've celebrated a lot of special occasions there! That's also where we got engaged.

36. Favourite Flower? lilacs - they're everywhere in NS in the spring - smell soooo good

37. Favourite ice cream? Chocolate or butter pecan

38. Favourite fast food? depends on my mood - either McD's, A&W or KFC

39. How many times did you fail your drivers test? None! They said I scored in the top 10% of people who take it

40. From whom did you get your last email? I don't remember - Lauren, probably

41. In which store would you choose to max out your Credit card? Ikea or
Old Navy

42. Bedtime? As close to 9:30 as possible

43. Who are you most curious about their responses to this?? Everyone's

44. Last person you went to dinner with? We took my dad to lunch for his birthday on Sunday, and then I took Brittni out for her birthday in the evening

45. What are you listening to right now? Colour Confidential (I'm not on hold anymore! :))

46. What is your favourite colour? pink

47. How many tattoos do you have? None

48. How many are you sending this email to? Not sure yet

"This is true love... you think this happens everyday?”

Happy Valentine's Day!

 

http://www.diguno.com/wordsofwisdom.html

Hehe...it's all very exciting! :) So totally a God-thing, and while it's sad that Scott is moving away, I'm really happy for them!

So I was thinking about the Five Love Languages the other day. In case you've never heard of them, the theory is that there's five basic 'languages' that people give and receive love in. They are acts of service, physical touch, giving of gifts, quality time and words of affirmation. Well, I think I've discovered at 6th love language! A few weeks ago Trevor apologized to someone by offering them some of his food, and when he got a weird look, I explained that food is Trevor's love language, and the more I think about it the more I think I'm on to something.

Feeding someone is sort of a combination of an act of service, giving of a gift, and quality time, right? When I have a bunch of friends over and feed them, it's so much fun for me to that, and I totally do it cause I love them, you know? Maybe I'm just crazy, but it makes sense to me!

Actually, I'm sure I'm crazy, cause when Trevor asked if I'd rather have flowers or a Chapters gift card for a valentine, I picked books over flowers without even really thinking about it... :)

By the way, the title of this blog is a quote from the Princess Bride - one of the best love stories of all time! And it's got sooooo many great quotes - if you haven't seen it, I highly reccomend that you do so as soon as possible - you're missing out on a classic!

Tagged by Leah

A while back Leah tagged me to post 6 random things about myself, and I've decided to finally get around to doing it! I don't think I'm that random of a person, but I'll do my best... :)

1. One of my favourite sandwiches is bacon and maple butter. My Mom sent me some maple butter at Christmas, which was very exciting, as I haven't had any in ages. I'm also a big fan of cheddar and blackberry jam...real blackberry jam, from Victoria.

2. I was sorting through some stuff on my computer last night, and I discovered that I've written 28 songs since the fall of 2002. As you probably know, I don't play any instruments, so I haven't actually been able to write down the music, which is more then a little frustrating when I can hear a tune rattling around in my head and can't get it out! I'm just hoping that God's got something in mind for me to do with 28 songs...I'm sure a lot of them are rubbish, but I think there's a few good ones in there, and they all have stories behind them.

3. If I ever get music written for some of my worship-y songs, I'd really like to record a worship album. I've got so many musically talented friends that I love to sing with, I think it would be a blast to do something like that. There's a kind of funny God-story about how I realized that was something I wanted to do, but maybe I'll write about that some other time... :)

4. I got my cartilage (top right ear) pierced this summer. It actually hurt less then my ear lobes did, but it's still not healed, and the cold Calgary winter is really aggravating it. But I really like it, anyway! I got it done when I went to visit Heather in August. Funny - when I got my ear lobes done, I was visiting Heather then, too...wonder what I'm going to get pierced next time I visit her? :0

5. I'm going home to NS on May 26! It also happens to be Trevor's birthday that day, which is unfortunate for him. I feel bad leaving him by himself on his birthday, but I NEED to see the ocean! I'm going for 13 days, and Trevor's coming out on June 1 for a week. Scott and Chris are also going to be there then, and we're going to do some stuff in Halifax, and rent a car and drive around the coast. I'M SOOOOOO EXCITED!!!! I haven't been home since Christmas of 2006, and Mom and Simon have moved in to a new house since then. Well, it's not new, it's actually 100 years old, and I loooove old houses, so I'm excited to see it. And Chris has never had scallops!!! So I can't wait to cook a bunch of NS food for the boys, and show them my city. Only 108 days to go!

6. When I named my blog, "What I've Found", I was listening to the Saltwater CD. If you haven't heard of Saltwater, they were a full-year Crew Ministries team which included some people that are really special to me, and I love listening to the CD. (My only complaint about it is that Scott didn't sing enough on it, but he'll probably just roll his eyes at that... :)) Anyway, that line is in a song by Riley Armstrong, and it just popped out at me as being appropriate for a blog where I talk about the things I find in my day-to-day life.

So there you go, 6 random things! Hope you've enjoyed, especially Leah! :)

I'm going to tag...hum, well, I was going to tag Trevor, but since he doesn't read my blog... :) how about Scott, Christine, Lauren and Anne Marie. If I didn't tag you, and you wish I had, I didn't know you read my blog and/or have one of your own, so reply here and let me know!

May the Force be With You

Everybody all together now... "and also with you"... :)

Well, it's been a while since I sat down and watched my three favourite movies - actually, I think that's what I did for my 24th birthday, so it's been a few years. My dad just moved to a new place, and wanted to buy a new tv for it, a 52-inch, so he gave us his 42-inch and the speakers and such to go with it. So in honour of this momentous occasion I've decided to treat myself to a marathon viewing of the original trilogy - hooray! Trevor rolled his eyes, but a few of my friends are joining me in my madness.

Did you know that there's a new Dark Lord of the Sith? Han and Leia's son Jacen is all grown up, and thinks that the best way to rid the galaxy of evil is to fight it on it's own playing field. A noble goal, but we all know that the dark side doesn't work like that. To vote on a name for this new Darth, check out www.darthwho.com. I voted for Darth Praxis - knowing Jacen's desire to use the dark side to bring light, and Praxis made me think of the Latin word "pax", which means peace - it seemed like a logical choice! We shall see what the other fans think...

Check this out... http://blog.scifi.com/tech/archives/2007/01/12/look_sir_droids.html

If there's a normal, unpretentious home theater projector out there in the universe, this is the projector it's farthest from. Star Wars fans will be knocking each other over to get to Nikko's R2-D2 DVD projector, which shoots video out of its eye onto a separate screen (it would have been perfect if it used the hologram-projector port, though). The resolution is only 800 x 600 pixels (south of high-def), but speakers are built in, and so is a DVD player as well as an iPod dock. And it wouldn't be R2 if he didn't move — you can make him follow you anywhere.
Say, have we mentioned the remote control? A replica of the Millenium Falcon — it's a riot in its own right. The controls pop out of the engines… too sweet. For that extra Jedi atmosphere, be sure to pick up a Darth Vader popcorn machine.
http://blog.scifi.com/tech/archives/2006/02/02/snacking_turns.htm
The R2-D2 projector is due in stores as early as the spring for a little more than 2 Gs.
— Peter Pachal

So much fun! And there's a new book out by Timothy Zahn, who wrote the first Star Wars novels ever, and it's set early in the days of the Rebellion - with the universe expanding so fast due to the prequels and the New Jedi Order series about Han and Leia's and Luke and Mara's kids, it's nice to get back to the original characters. I'm really looking forward to reading it.

By the way, I'm in the market for a lightsaber - for someone reason that's not something that people seem to think about when they think about what to get me for Christmas, but I'd love to have one to add to my two shelves of books and other bits of random Star Wars paraphernalia.

So there's a look inside my Star Wars fetish for you - I'm just a sci fi geek at heart! :)

Break Forth 2007

Check out my pictures! Trevor took all the ones of Casting Crowns, Bob and AJ and Starfield, and I took the rest. I had some fun with the old buildings around Edmonton, but it was so cold out I had to stop cause my fingers were getting too cold to push the buttons! It was COOOOLD there, and there was shin-deep snow in the neighbourhood where we were staying - big switch from the 13 degree weather in Calgary when we left on Thursday!

http://picasaweb.google.com/michelleheumann/BreakForth2007


So much to tell, and not nearly enough time - it was a LOT of work, and I doubt that I'd do the volunteer thing again, but I did get to go to some really great sessions and hear some good music, so it was a good weekend overall. I'm exhausted now though!

I was helping my Dad pack to move last night, and he's given us his 42-inch TV, cause he's getting a 52-inch for his new place. It's very big and I may have to rearrange the whole living room now though... :)

Drumroll, Please!

 

My Legal Assistant Certificate came in the mail this week - hooray! After about 2.5 years of night classes, I am VERY glad to be done! I finished with at 3.5 GPA, which was not as impressive as I'd been hoping for, but certianly respectable. I also had my one-year review at work last week, which was short and sweet. They like me, my only real complaint is something the office manager is working on already, and I got a raise! So that's all good. Except...tomorrow's Monday, and I'm not ready for the weekend to be over yet!

At least it will be a short week - we're leaving Thursday afternoon for Break Forth, and I am SOOOOOO excited. I love going to Break Forth, and Casting Crowns being there makes it that much more exciting. Plus I'll get to see my friend Sarah who I don't get to hang out with very often, so that's also exciting. Oh, and did I mention the road trip with Scott and Trevor? That will be entertaining as always! :)

Hopefully I will take tons of pictures with my exciting new camera, and I'll update y'all when I get back! If you get a chance, prayer for good driving conditions would be much appreciated!

Stars on Ice

Stars On Ice:
Throughout his spectacular career, Brian Orser has helped define figure skating in Canada, served as an inspiration to other legends of the sport including Kurt Browning and Elvis Stojko, and thrilled Canadian fans from coast to coast. This spring, those fans will be able to celebrate with him as he tours for the final time in his career with 2007 HSBC Stars on Ice Presented by Smucker’s.
The Saddledome
Date: Monday, April 16, 2007 at 7:00 p.m.
Price: Lower Bowl: $56.40

So there's no way on earth I can convince Trevor to go with me - anyone else interested? I'm sure the tickets will be going fast, so let me know!

LLAMA!!!!

New Year, New Things

It's been a while! Things have gone absolutely NUTTY at work - I can't even begin to tell you... Actually, I really can't - I am bound by lawyer/client confidentiality, but suffice it to say that Christmas is apparently a breaking point for a lot of relationships on the brink...very sad... :(

I've been meaning to write a post about the New Year and what it might have in store, so I may as well do that now, while I'm here and somewhat focused!


This was my email devo I got on December 31...

This is what the Lord says, ... "Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland."
- Isaiah 43:16,18-19

THOUGHT: The year is gone, finished, past. We cannot reclaim it or undo it. We cannot rest on the great distance it has brought us. If tomorrow dawns, it will be another day, a new opportunity, and the time to show our faith in Jesus as Lord. Let's journey forward, knowing that God already inhabits the future and promises to provide us refreshment on our journey there.

PRAYER: Lord of all eternity, please help me to learn from my mistakes this past year, but not to dwell on them. Please help me not rest on my accomplishments in this past year, but use them to further your work in me and through me. Please help me not quarrel with those who injured me yesterday, last month, or this past year.
Instead, O Father, lead me in your paths and help me see your mighty works this next year. In Jesus' name and by his power I ask it. Amen.


Christmas/my birthday/new years is a pretty introspective time for me - having three major occasions all on top of each other like that is a lot to think about. What have I done with the last year? What do I have to show for 26 years of life, anyway? This year wasn't such a crisis moment for me (not like turning 25 was, anyway...oh my, that was a hard one) - the feedback from the kids at Survivor in December really made me feel like I've done something with my life. I've grown and changed more this last year then I have in a very long time, and it was good. I really have a sense of peace about the things that last year brought.

But now I'm restless - what is going to happen next? I don't like just sitting around and watching TV, as entertaining as that is! I want to be doing something that will leave behind a legacy of God's love when I'm gone. What's God bringing along for me this year?

And I've just got itchy feet, plain and simple! On January 29th, I'll have lived in Calgary for eight years, which is a very long time for me. I've moved around a lot - I was born in Comox, and we left there for Greenwood NS when I was about three. We lived there for about 5 or 6 years, and then we moved to Halifax, where we lived for about 4 years. Then it was off to Victoria for about 4 years. So eight years is the longest I've lived in one place, and I'm really feeling the need for a change. Switching jobs last year helped a bit with the restlessness, but now that I've been there for almost a year, the novelty is wearing off, and I want to really change things up.

So we shall see where God takes me this year - I know what I want, and I'm really hoping it's what He wants! :) Here's to an eventful 2007 - may it be full of living life to the fullest and serving God wherever He takes me!

"Calgary's oil rush rash"

By ROB GRANATSTEIN

CALGARY -- Welcome to a city that's going boom and Kaboom! at the same time.

Everyone in Canada knows about the boom sweeping Alberta that has Calgary rolling in money. Oil is gold right now, and there's lots fuelling the economy here.

The streets are filled with shoppers dumping loads of cash on big-screen HDTVs and $60,000 pick-up trucks. If you've got it, flaunt it and they certainly are.

There are jobs for everyone. Unemployment is a tiny 3.4% and falling. Ontario's is 6.3%.

It may look perfect, but there's an underlying problem. There aren't enough people to do the day-to-day jobs necessary or enough places for the gold-rushers to live.

Let's start with the jobs. Try to find a taxi in this town. Good luck. Has your car ended up in the ditch in the snowstorm? Abandon it until summer because there aren't enough tow trucks to yank you out. The airport shuttle you're waiting for? Keep waiting. The business shut down at the end of November after its proprietor couldn't find enough people to drive the buses.

Anyone who wants to drive for a living has left town for the big money driving gargantuan gravel trucks in Fort McMurray.

Shop 'till you drop doesn't apply. There aren't enough people to man the stores. Over Christmas, malls actually reduced hours.

Beds in Calgary's hospitals are being closed due to nursing shortages.

Construction workers are in high demand. Need something fixed? Good luck.

EnCana announced plans to build a 59-storey, $1 billion office tower in the heart of the city and everyone wondered who would build it.

Traffic? It stinks. It's a city allergic to public transit, but is finding the cure must come as gridlock strangles the town.

Then there's the homeless here in Boomtown. There are about 3,500 homeless people in Calgary, up 32% in the last two years. There aren't even enough places for the employed to live in some cases. Rents have soared while vacancies plummeted. Shelters are at capacity. The city just took over an abandoned Brick furniture store to house up to 300 people a night. People are picked up downtown, shuttled to the human warehouse, then bused back downtown in the morning.

Unlike Toronto, where it seems like the homeless are on every street corner, Calgary's homeless are grouping together and becoming a menace to citizens walking on paths along the Bow River downtown. I watched this summer as a group of boozy men went after a bicyclist, then told me the path was not a safe place to walk my baby.

Calgary even had to enact a public behaviour bylaw, fining those who spit, brawl, loiter or urinate in public. How civilized.

Most disturbing is while the residents in the city and province are rocking and rolling, and provincial government coffers are overflowing, the schools are crumbling and there aren't enough rinks or community centres for the people who have arrived. And at the same time, the province handed everyone $400 in Ralph Bucks for a job well done -- that is watching the price of oil soar.

Calgary is drowning in the troubles brought on by explosive growth.

And remember, this is an economy built on one industry. It's like a unicyclist balancing an entire province's future on his shoulders.

Just one oil field being put on hold could have a devastating effect. It seems hard to fathom with $10 billion in oil sands projects on the books, but a bust has hit here before.

You might recall the last boom in Alberta, and its devastating pop. "Please God, send us another oil boom, and this time I promise not to piss it all away," the popular bumper stickers read.

Those who lived through the first boom in the '70s and bust in the '80s are playing it a little safer.

As for the gold rushers who have flocked to Alberta, could history be repeating itself or will it just be the fact no one's around to service them that will cripple Calgary this time?

If you're heading for the hills be warned: This isn't the promised land you might have expected.

www.torontosun.com

Christmas Loot

I'm back at work today, and it's so quiet here - there's only three lawyers, me, the receptionist and the office manager here, out of 24. I want to go home and play with my new camera!



The camera is courtesy of my bonus and all my Christmas and birthday money combined, and I'm really excited to get out and start playing with it. It's got a lot of neat features and the picture quality is amazing, after Trevor's little 4mp Canon.

And I also got a lot of books, Super Scrabble and the Scrabble Dictionary, among other things, as well as a nice lamb dinner, church three times in two days, and some quality time with Trevor, so it was a good holiday!

And tomorrow I turn 26, and there will be some festivities on Saturday that I'm sure will be blog-worthy. :)

Break Forth

I got an email from the Break Forth volunteer coordinator today, saying that they still need about 90 volunteers, and a lot of those are needed to work shifts in the bookstore. If you're interested, you can get more info at www.new-creation.net.

Hope to see you there!:)

Baking Queen

It's United Way week here at the law firm, and today we had a silent auction of baked goods.

I made my famous peanut butter squares, and donated two plates of a dozen each, and some free samples. They decided to auction off the samples as well - there were a dozen bite-sized ones. The two plates of a dozen big ones sold for - get this - FIFTEEN DOLLARS each, and the little ones for about $8.00. I'm so proud! :)

Someone even told me that the squares are better then Crave Cupcakes, which is about the highest compliment I can think of...except for the time my chocolate chip cookies elicited a marriage proposal, but I was only 14, so I had to turn it down... ;)

Anyhow, I just had to tell you all how excited I am to have raised so much money for the United Way - it's very exciting! And if being a legal assistant doesn't work out, I could always sell peanut butter squares for a living!

Intramural Quidditch Hits U.S. College Campuses

This is AWESOME!!!


Intramural Quidditch Hits U.S. College Campuses

http://www.the-leaky-cauldron.org/#article:9333

Today's edition of the Wall Street Journal reports that a new fad is sweeping college campuses across the U.S. -- Intramural (earthbound) Quidditch! The article is available online to paid subscribers, and TLC is happy to provide some highlights:

In Quidditch games played at Middlebury College in Vermont, one student IS the Snitch, and attempts to outrun the other players.

"Rainey Johnson, sporting a yellow shirt, yellow socks and yellow paint smeared on his face, darted across the freshman quad. Other students, in capes, ran after him clutching brooms between their legs and grasping in vain for a tennis ball stuffed in a sock hanging out of his yellow shorts."

At Marlboro College, a toy helicopter launched from a slingshot serves as the Snitch, and must be caught before it reaches the ground. Water-soaked foam balls become Bludgers, and a volleyball is used as the Quaffle.

Middlebury's model, though (with a student Snitch, Dodgeball Bludgers and a volleyball Quaffle "aimed at gold-painted Hula Hoops mounted on chairs"), is catching on at other east coast colleges: Bucknell and Vassar students are putting Quiddtich teams together for the spring using "Middlebury rules."

Middlebury student Alexander Benepe and friends started the Quidditch craze at their school last year, and have seen it grow tremendously this fall.

"About 30 Middlebury students played pickup games almost every weekend this fall, usually two or three matches, before heading to a 'Quidditch World Cup' that drew five teams and about 60 players this month.

"'We are the first college students who grew up reading Harry Potter,' says Mr. Benepe, a sophomore from New York City. 'It's very much a book of our generation.'"

Youth Party

Yesterday we took the youth skating and then back to our place for a Christmas gift exchange - it was fun, but pretty low-key. I don't think I ever remember them being that quiet before. I guess the skating must have tired them out...you can link to my web album below. I forgot to take the camera skating, so I didn't get any pictures of Matt and Anne Marie's attempt at choreograpy, or of the Cadbury's magical elves who were there giving away chocolate.

Christmas party

Christmas Party!

 

Awwww...

"I will not die but live, and proclaim what the Lord has done."

I don't even know where to start! Such an amazing weekend - God used our little retreat to do some pretty cool stuff, and I'm so honoured to have been a part of that. I took the title of this post from a Psalm - I can't remember which right now, but it was another verse that meant a lot to me back in the days when I was going through the darkest times in my life. I knew that God would use my struggles for good, eventually, and to see that all come together this weekend just blew me away. It's amazing to see the Spirit working in my life, and bringing all the crap to work out for good. I had some good feedback, and that was really encouraging to hear.

Survivor has been my baby for the last six years, and I put all I can give into getting the weekend off the ground. This year it was even more personal, because of sharing my story, and by the time the last session and prayer time was over on Saturday night, I felt like that verse in Isaiah that says "I am poured out like a drink offering" - not only did I feel like I had nothing left to give, I couldn't stop crying for more then a few minutes at a time! Then Scott, Sam, Trevor and I ended up doing a worship set for the coffee house, and it was amazing. You know those moments where everything just comes together in perfect alignment, and you can feel the hand of God putting it that way? That was one of those moments - if I could just freeze that time and live in it forever, I totally would!

That's what I hope heaven will be like and is my favourite thing about retreats - the two gatherings I've been to, Crew training, the Crew alumni retreat, Survivor every year, TEC - just worshiping with people I love, who also love to worship Jesus. That, blog-readers, is what it's all about! The new Chris Tomlin CD has this song that goes "you and I were made to worship, you and I are called to love" - for me, that's the purpose of life on this earth right there. I love all those kids who were there this weekend, and a bunch of my dearest friends were there, as well as some of my youth, and it was phenomenal. It's been such a privilege to work with the group of people we have planning Survivor - not only are we coworkers in youth ministry, we're all friends, and we all have different gifts that complement each other - God sure knew what he was doing when he put us together! :)

You can check out some pics of us using our gifts here, and stay tuned for updates as more pics come in over the next couple of weeks. http://picasaweb.google.com/michelleheumann/SurvivorVII

Typo

There was the most awesome typo in the bulletin yesterday - they've made gluten-free wafers available at communion now, but the bulletin said that now glutton-free wafers are available! Haha!

In four and half days, we're heading into Ultimate Survivors VII! I'm excited - it's going to be great! We had our "dress rehearsal" yesterday, and Prince of Peace is really a great facility for this kind of thing. There's a group coming all the way from the Okanagan, so hopefully the roads improve - I would not want to drive through the mountains, with a van load of youth, with the roads the way they are right now!

We took our youth to Operation Christmas Child on Saturday - every year we go to the warehouse and help prepare the shoeboxes for shipping - it's great fun, and this year PAUL BRANDT was there! He's the celebrity spokesperson for OCC, and he was there playing some Christmas music - just him and his guitar. It was very exciting for me... ;)

Life continues to be interesting - a few things have happened in the last week that have really hit close to home, and kind of re-awoken my passion to do something to help victims of abuse. I still don't know what, but I'm keeping an eye out to see what God brings along. It just makes me soooo cross that there's people out there putting up with crap that is totally inhumane because they're ashamed and/or they don't think anyone will believe their story. I guess I've started to do something, with sharing my testimony for Survivor this weekend, but I want to do more! So it will be interesting to see where God is planning to take me on this part of my journey.

Stay tuned for crazy pics from Survivor - coming soon!

Oooh la la!

http://blog.scifi.com/tech/archives/2006/11/09/luxury_lcdequip.html

I'd love to find this under the tree on Christmas morning! All it's missing are cup holders!

A great debate...

In Remembrance

This coming Saturday is Remembrance Day, and it's something I've been thinking a lot about in the last few weeks.

Every year for as long as I can remember, I've gone to a Remembrance Day service. I'm an airforce brat, so it was a really big deal for us. I don't think I've ever actually missed one, except for the year I was 9 or so and sick, and I was really upset that Mom wouldn't let me go. I've read so much about the wars, and how much pain and suffering they caused, and it's really made an impact on me - I can't imagine living through that.

I really feel that taking a couple hours out of a day, once a year, to pay tribute to the sacrifices that so many people made so that we could live in our nice free country, is really a small thing to do. But it seems to me that not a lot of people nowadays feel like that. I could be wrong, so I'd really like to hear some reader input on this one.

I have noticed an increase in the number of people at the service since 9/11, but what really just makes me HOPPING mad is the companies that don't close down on Remembrance Day, and instead give people an extra day off at Christmas. HELLO! That totally defeats the purpose! It's not about having a day off, it's about REMEMBERING. It makes me really cross.

A Remembrance Day service is pretty simple, but so moving, and somehow so Canadian to me. The trumpet playing the Last Post, the flags snapping in the wind, the poppies, the Scouts, cadets and vets on parade, the prayers and the singing, the time of silence, the wreath-laying - it's all so important to me, I can't even explain it. So many people have died in war, and with them the dreams of their families for their lives. So much pain and heartbreak!

Anyway, on Saturday we'll be at the Museum of the Regiments on Crowchild Trail at about 10 or 10:15. The service starts at 10:40, and lasts about an hour. It would be great if you could come! But dress warm - it's Canadian winter, eh!


This is the page from the Book of Remembrance in Ottawa that shows my great-uncle, Thomas Bennetts, who died in 1944.

Wow...talk about the Bible being relevant to my life...

VERSE:
A man finds joy in giving an apt reply -- and how good is a timely word!
Proverbs 15:23

THOUGHT:
Knowing the right word at the right time is a great gift. But even the best of speakers has to admit that the best of his or her words are not nearly as good as those the Spirit gives. Nevertheless, we must not excuse ourselves for our insensitive speech, unkindness, or missed opportunities. Not paying attention to what was said is no excuse. Not being spiritually in tune with the needs of our companions is a cop out. Simply not knowing Scripture well enough to bless others with gracious speech at the appropriate time is self-deception. Listening to others after having listened to God in his Word is what tunes our ears and our hearts to bless others.

PRAYER:
Loving Shepherd, I will spend much of my time today with people. Some of them know you, but most do not. Please give me wisdom to say things that lead people closer to you. Give me words of help and hope for the broken. Give me words of tenderness for the fainting. Give me words of direction for the confused. Father, I pray that whatever words I do say today may reflect your will and may be led by your purposes to bless others. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

www.heartlight.org

Golfing fun

I can't believe it's already been over a week since we left! It was a good weekend, and the golf tournament raised over $8000. Trevor got the worst score, and Scott was only two strokes behind him, and then they took out the score card and argued over who was the worst, which I found highly amusing, or would have, if I wasn't so tired! It was a loooong day, but I got some good pictures, and while I nearly froze, at least the sun was shining!
You can check out my pictures here: http://picasaweb.google.com/michelleheumann/CrewGolf2006

I had my Real Estate Law midterm this week, but I'm really sick with a cold, and I was not in a good space that night, so I don't think I did very well. We'll see in a couple of weeks when I get my marks back if the cold got to my brain as badly as it felt like. I even stayed home from Bible study last night to get some rest. Stacey and Clinton picking on a fashion victim are just what you need when your nose is running like a faucet and your head is pounding!

In other news, and this made me both excited and sad at the same time... (this article borrowed from scifi.com...)

SG-1 DVD Films Get OK'd
SCI FI Channel's original series Stargate SG-1 will wrap up its 10-year run this spring, but that's not the end of the saga. Executive producer Brad Wright told TV Guide that MGM has granted a green light,and enough money, to produce two movies, most likely for DVD. The first film will tie up most of the finale's loose threads. "It's the climax of the Ori storyline," Wright said, and will be written and directed by executive producer Robert Cooper. The second film, written by Wright, will involve time travel, and both projects should debut in the fall of 2007. Though no deals are signed, SG-1's stars are said to be "very eager"to continue, Wright added. "They're not big-budget [films] by any definition, but for us it's pretty good," he said. "As we've proven over the years, just give us little more money and we can make pretty good television or DVDs."

And Gilmore Girls continues, although at this point I'm starting to feel like the writers should just stop with the drama and let them live happily ever after, already...oy...

Stop the madness!

I feel like my life is a three-ring circus, and I'm the main act in all three rings! This weekend should be fun and relaxing, but getting ready to relax sure is a lot of work!

But I wanted to my faithful readers know that I'm going out of town tomorrow, so there won't be an update till middle of next week now, but I'm sure I'll have lots of stories when I get back! Won't you miss me? :)

Did you see the headline of the Sun today? Gave me GREAT joy, let me tell you!
Huzzah! I can't wait to go for wings...

Anyhow, off to finish packing and then to bed...so much to do, and not enough time to sleep! I HAD to give up one of my commitments - maybe I'll have to give up another one as well, just to find some sanity!

Fun Pics

You can check out pictures of the last TEC weekend here...there's lots of Foothills people in these pictures!

http://picasaweb.google.com/TeensEncounterChristCalgary

TEC 44 was the one we just had, and Trevor and I worked 41, and Trevor worked 40 (I was in Victoria that weekend).

There aren't any pics up yet of 42, but we both worked that one, and there's pics up of 43, which neither of us worked, cause some crazy people we know decided to get married that weekend... :)

CREW Ministries Golf Tournament

The 2006 CREW Ministries Fundraising Golf Tournament, in support of the ongoing music and drama ministry, will be held on October 21 in Kelowna. Scott Refvik and Trevor Heumann will be participating in the tournament, and is currently collecting pledges. All donations in the amount of $10.00 or more made to CREW are tax deductible, and pledges may be made by contacting Trevor, Michelle or Scott before October 20. More info on the ministry is available at http://www.crewministries.com/.

Scott's CREW team...

Trevor's and my CREW team... (Scott's team got a better picture...)

Next Bethel Service

Sunday, October 15, at 11am
Lake Chaparral Rec Centre
http://www.bethelmissionproject.ca/

3/5 of Rice Omlet and the ! Woo (otherwise known as the TEC 44 worship team) will be playing, and there'll be snacks afterwards, so I hope to see you there!

Jordan and Jeremy part 2

So this is what happened. Jordan was given a list of questions to ask, and Jeremy was only told that he could say those certain answers. So it was all rigged to look like Jordan was going to kiss him, but what he was actually supposed to do was put his fingers in front of his lips and blow on them to make that fun "pfffitt" sound. There was some misjudging of distance and timing, and there you have it - a situation that looks worse on camera then it really was, and a classic moment that Jeremy will be teased about for years to come - but only because we love him, of course! :)

Jordan and Jeremy

Jordan: "Do you know what this is?"
Jeremy: "Yes"
Jordan: "Do you know what it can do?"
Jeremy: "No"
Jordan: "Do you want to find out?"
Jeremy: "Yes"

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Jordan: "Do you know what these are?"
Jeremy: "Yes"
Jordan: "Do you know what they can do?"
Jeremy: "No"
Jordan: "Do you want to find out?"
Jeremy: "Yes"

Let the Countdown Begin...

Did you know I turn 26 three months from today? Only 4 years and three months to 30...sad day!

This year is going by so fast I can almost feel the wind rushing by - I've had a lot of internal change this summer - it's been very interesting for me to look back at and see the pattern emerging.

I think I have a better idea of what the next few years will look like now, God willing, and it's very encouraging. I've always been a dreamer, but the last few years I've stopped dreaming, partly because of the baggage I've been hauling around, and it's such a great feeling to have rediscovered that part of myself. God is so good, hey. He used someone in my life that I've been friends with for a long time to bring about the changes - I'm sure this person has no idea just what an influence they've been on me over the last few months, but I can see how God has used things they've said and done to get my attention. It's pretty cool, and I'm feeling very blessed to have such a great bunch of friends here.

I have an idea about what my next career choice is going to be, but it's a few years off yet, cause it involves a big time and financial commitment, not to mention a huge lifestyle change. This is something I've never really wanted to do before, but now I'm feeling kind of excited about it, and it's all because I dealt with so much of my crap this summer. Now I just have to wait for God's timing - I'm TERRIBLE about doing that! Well, doing it patiently, anyway. Once I've decided what I want, I like to just go for it, you know? I know God will do a better job of bringing everything together then I ever could, but it would be great if he could hurry up about it! :)

Change of Number

If you've known Trevor for very long, you know he has a habit of losing things - well, this time he's lost his cell phone, and had to get a new one. He got a better deal from Bell then Telus, so he's got a new number. The 875-4264 one isn't working anymore, so if you want the new number, please email me and I'll give it to you.

He's happy with the new one, cause it's also an MP3 player, which means I'll get his mini disc player, which makes me happy, so it's worked out ok! :)

You know you're busy when...

...you forget it's Friday! Can you believe that I did that? I'm really loosing it this time...sigh...and I'm developing a somewhat co-dependent relationship with my laptop - I hardly go anywhere without it, and the mere idea of something possibly happening to it makes my ulcer act up. Can you say "too much stress"?!!!

The Light the Night walk is coming up soon, and I'm still collecting donations! I have to hand in all cash and cheques to my team captain on Monday, but you can donate online up until Saturday...
http://www.active.com/donate/ltncal/1986_mheumann
It's for a good cause, and it's tax deductible! And you'll be making me walk 5k, which I'm sure will be very good for me...

Tonight!

You want to hear some good music?

One of my best friends, Sarah Wemyss, is playing a couple coffee houses in Calgary this week. On Wednesday she's at the Starfish Cafe, which is at 4510 Macleod Trail SW, in the rear basement-walk out, and that starts at 7 pm.
On Friday night she's playing at the House, at 7 pm. I'm told the House is on 10th Street NW, in Kensington area, but I can't find it on Google or in the phone book, so if you know where it's located, please let me know!
Then on Sunday, Sarah's playing at the 10:30 service at Foothills.
And she has this great CD, so if you can't make it, you can order her CD from www.qsarah.com!

(This post is by special request of Pastor Mike, who said he'd write down the dates if he read it on my blog. Makes me happy, that does! Nice to know that someone's actually reading this thing and I'm not just talking to myself... :)

In case you were just dying to know, the first service for Bethel went pretty well. It was a small crowd, and there were some logistical issues that need to be worked out, but it was a good start. There'll be another service in October sometime, and I'll be sure to let you know when that will be.

Oh, and the National Youth Gathering planning was great, apart from my personal revelations. We have a lot of good ideas that I'm excited to see take shape. We're doing a lot of things that we hope will capture the attention of the youth - today's youth are more and more ADD, and if we want them to hear what we're saying, we need to think more outside the box. It's going to be FANTASTIC, and it's only 290 days away! (That's probably a scary thought for those of you with more work to do then me... :)

The Survivor publicity is going in the mail today - such a huge stress that's been this last week! But it's done now, and if you're a youth leader, look for it in your mailbox by the end of the week. And if you don't get one, and want one, please let me know! It's only 73 days away, so get those registrations in quickly. I sent out 79 publicity packages, and I think we'll only be able to take about 150 youth and leaders, so get your registrations in as fast as you can!

Silly Me...

You ever have one of those moments when you realize something, and wonder why on earth it took you so long to figure it out? I had one today - actually a couple, one led into the other.

I'm part of the team planning sessions for the National Youth Gathering in Ottawa next summer, and we spent last night and all of today brainstorming for it. One of the other people brought up a speaker he had heard once, named Dan Allendar, who has a book called "To be Told". Basically it sounds like it's about being at peace with the story of your life, and seeing the good that's come from the bad. It really affected me, just the way he said it, and later when we were praying, I was kind of mulling it over, and something hit me.

I know that I feel called to tell my story at Survivor, and I've come to terms with the fact that that's what I'm going to do, but I haven't liked the idea. I guess I've felt somehow like that would be self-promoting somehow. But the fact of it is that it would be God-promoting! My story is basically about how I was sexually and verbally/emotionally abused, and how God is healing me from the burden of that pain. My story is about what He's done for me, and why on earth would I NOT want to share that? And that led in to why am I so worried about what to say? There's a verse where Jesus tells the disciples to not worry about what to say, because He will give them the words. I KNOW that, I just forgot. I just make me shake my head...sigh.

Anyway, I'm going to tell my story, and I'm excited about it, cause God is using me to bring Him glory, so that's darn well what I'm going to do! And I'm not feeling quite so nauseous about it either, which is nice. And praise God for cool Christians who you learn stuff from - He's really blessed me with a great bunch of people to hang around with, work with and learn from. And you know what? I'm happy with my life, and with who I am, and I wouldn't be who I am if I hadn't gone through all that crap - God has brought good from bad and I'm not going to be so shy about sharing that fact from now on.

The song that was running through my head was "My Redeemer Lives", in particular the lines that goes: "My shame He's taken away, my pain is healed in His name, I believe". It's such a joyful song, and a lot of the time I get so busy I forget to be joyful, you know? And considering how much I have to be joyful about, that's kind of sad!

So those are my new goals - to be more open about what God has done for me, and to be more joyful about the life that He's blessed me with. Yay God!

Woe is me...

...I think I'm getting the flu. I won't get sick - I can't! I SO don't have time. It started today with a really bad headache - the kind where it feels like someone's got your eye sockets in vice grip, so I went home early. As I was leaving, the girl who sits next to me, who had the flu this week, pointed out that her early symptoms were a brutal headache and back pain. Since I always have back pain, I wasn't worried. Till I came home, went to bed, and got the chills. Then I went burning hot, and now I'm a little panicked. So I took two Advil liqui-gells, three Cold Fx, three echenacia capsules with garlic and ginger, and a large glass of orange juice.
I have an exciting but busy weekend coming up, and I won't give in to the germs - never give up, never surrender!!!

Back to school...

My first class was tonight, and I learned something I've never figured out in the five years I've been hanging around SAIT - the Heart building has a basement! Go figure! I was nearly late for my class it took so long to find the room. Sigh...the instructor seems ok, anyway. He's got an interesting way of looking at things, but I feel that Real Estate law isn't very exciting in general. Oh well, last class, and then I can get my certificate!

I'm now officially a Commissioner for Oaths in and for the Province of Alberta, which is very exciting. I swore my first affidavit yesterday, so now I feel like a real legal assistant. Hooray for swearing! :)

A couple of weeks ago, we had a youth event at which much chaos ensued. Some of it was captured on a camera phone, and I share the pictures with you for your amusement.

This is Chris and Matt - wonderful youth leaders, eh?


This is Chris and Jordan...really, what else can I say about that?

I'm mostly doing this to bug Chris... :) Hehe!

I just downloaded MSN - sigh. Years of holding out, and I finally broke down. I can now message you with MSN, Google chat or Skype! I have a lot of crap on my computer...

Ah well, past my bed time! Big weekend coming up, and I've got a lot of projects to get through so I can focus on it!

Oh hey, one last thing...nice, hey? I really like...

Bethel Update

Worship with us on Sunday, September 17th, at 2:30pm-3:30pm

Sleep in, have lunch and then come and join us at Mackenzie Lake Community Association Centre

Followed by a Desert Extravaganza!!!

Everyone welcome, Nursery care provided, Children's church

Directions: from 22x Marquis of Lorne, Turn up McKenzie Lake Blvd, north from the Cranston gate,up to McKenzie Lake Way SE, turn right, and you'll see the hall on your right.

Made me laugh...

Road Trip

So much to say - where to start? I spent the long weekend in the Okanagan - Scott, Chris and I went to Penticton to visit another Crew alum, and it was a blast. (Trevor couldn't come cause he's on the worship team for the fall TEC, and he had to play at the meeting Friday night, and he was taking the youth to the Labour Day Classic.)

We left Friday after work, and didn't get in till almost midnight. We listened to a lot of music, and this comedian, Bill Engvall, best known for his "here's your sign" jokes. Here's a link to a video of his - he's probably the cleanest comedian I've ever heard, and I can't remember the last time I laughed so hard. We had such a good time, I was almost sorry to get to Sam's!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jovsckwNF6U

I got up fairly early on Saturday morning, and spent some time on the deck, overlooking the lake, with my Bible. It was fantastic - I wish I could start every day like that! We went to the beach in the afternoon, and I had some time to just sit and work some stuff out with God - I don't know when I spent some quality time with Him like that last. It was probably a good thing I'd forgotten the power cord for my laptop, otherwise I would have spent the afternoon working.

We went mini golfing in the evening, and I swear, Chris is the most dangerous mini golf player ever. He swings like he's playing real golf - the ball ricocheted off a rock, nearly hit him in the head, and went in to the bushes. He had to go ask for a new ball at that point... The very next hole, he does the same thing, except this time it rebounds off the rock...and right at my ankle. I was not amused... Then we get to the last hole, and you'd think he'd have learned his lesson by this point, right? Wrong! It comes flying back, nearly hits me in the head, and lands in the stream. (Picture me shaking my head and rolling my eyes here...)

On Sunday, Scott and I went in to Kelowna for church at First Lutheran, and I got to see Sarah for a bit. I really like First - they've got a beautiful building, and a great congregation. The Okanagan circuit churches all seem to have really great staff, too. I haven't been to Concordia in Penticton, but that's where Chris went on Sunday, and he really liked it. I noticed today that they're hiring a secretary, and I realized that I would maybe like to do that again some time. I really surprise myself sometimes...

Anyway, we also went to Summerhill Winery, which makes my favourite kind of wine, and had some free samples, which is always good. On the drive back to Penticton, we cranked the worship tunes, and I got to spend some more quality time with God - who'd have imagined that the best worship time I've had in ages would be in the back of a car? Kind of ironic! In the evening, we had this fantastic jam session out on the deck - Scott on guitar and Sam's dad, Chester, on congas. It was pretty cool, and I ended up staying up until 2 am working on my testimony for Survivor. I've given up asking God "are you sure I have to do this?" and started asking "what the heck do I say?". I'm pretty nervous about it - there's a lot of people that I know that have no idea about my past crap, and the Lutheran grapevine moves pretty quick, and I don't know how the kids are going to respond to it. I'm trying not to think about it too much, cause it makes me nauseous. Such a pain...

On Monday morning, I spent more time on the deck with my Bible, and we just spend the morning chilling with Sam. We had some great burns at Chris, and he even burnt himself really well at some very opportune times - 'twas awesome. We left around noon, and didn't get back to Calgary until about 10. I got some time to work out my testimony a bit more, and then from Golden on, we had some great conversations. Chris used about half a dozen big words, and it was just some really great hang-out time - it was cool, because while we hang out a lot, but we don't really talk about important stuff.

We came up with a grand plan that involves me and Trevor, Scott, and Chris moving to the Okanagan and buying houses all next to each other. I think that sounds like great fun - it would be such a blast. I really want to move away from Calgary at some point, I'm really not a city girl, but I really don't want to leave my friends, either, so taking them with me sounds like a good idea, hey? And while Lake Okanagan isn't an ocean, at least it's more water then Calgary has, and it's not too far from the Pacific. Who knows if it would ever work out, but it's fun to think about, anyway.

So, it was an extraordinary weekend. I made some new friends, got to know some old ones a little better, had some awesome times with God, bought some wine, and came home to Trevor. It was such a relief to not have any work or responsibilities, and Sam's family was so hospitable, it was totally relaxing to just hang out there. So much fun - I'm so blessed!